Arsenal Targets Antonio Nusa to Strengthen Left Flank

Arsenal’s title defence is being built on the wings. Literally.

With Leandro Trossard gone and the new season closing in, Mikel Arteta has turned the left flank into a priority zone, and Arsenal are now ready to go head-to-head with Liverpool for one of Europe’s most intriguing young wide forwards: Antonio Nusa.

Arsenal move for Nusa as Leipzig dig in

The Premier League champions are preparing an opening bid of around €40 million (£34 million) for the RB Leipzig winger, whose stock has rocketed since the 2026 World Cup. It is a bold first move, but it may not be enough.

Leipzig, never a club to sell cheap or sell early, are understood to value the 21-year-old much closer to €60 million (£52 million). That gap tells its own story. Nusa is no longer a speculative project. He is an asset.

The Norway international used this summer’s tournament as a stage and seized it. He helped drive his country into the quarter-finals and produced one of the standout moments of the competition with a dazzling solo goal against Ivory Coast, the sort of strike that lives in highlight reels and recruitment meetings for years.

Liverpool have seen the same thing Arsenal have. They view Nusa as a more attainable option than Yan Diomande after their move for the Leipzig man stalled. Now the two English heavyweights are circling the same target, both looking to refresh ageing forward lines without ripping up their wage structures.

Trossard gone, left flank exposed

For Arsenal, the need is immediate and obvious.

Trossard’s move to Besiktas has stripped Arteta’s squad of a proven, flexible attacker who could slip between the lines, finish with either foot and ease the burden on Gabriel Martinelli. With the Belgian gone, Martinelli stands as the only established natural left winger in the squad.

That is a risk for a team defending a Premier League crown and expecting to go deep in Europe. One injury, one loss of form, and the entire attacking balance tilts.

Nusa offers something different to what Arsenal already have. He is about raw acceleration, fearless dribbling and direct confrontation. He wants the ball at his feet, a defender in front of him and space to attack. At 21, he is still learning the game, but his profile screams upside: a winger who can destabilise blocks on his own and stretch matches when opponents try to suffocate Arsenal’s short passing.

Arteta has spoken often about “layers” in attack. Nusa would add another one.

Why Nusa alone is not enough

Yet even if Arsenal win this tug-of-war with Liverpool and convince Leipzig to sell, their business on the left should not stop there.

The club’s interest in Morgan Rogers remains live for a reason. The Aston Villa attacker brings something Nusa cannot yet offer: Premier League mileage and tactical versatility. Rogers has already shown he can operate off the left or slide into central pockets behind the striker, linking midfield and attack with a more measured, possession-friendly style.

In a squad built on rotations and positional interchanges, that matters.

The ideal scenario for Arsenal is simple to sketch and far harder to execute: sign both. Rogers would walk in as a near-ready starter, capable of lifting the level of the first XI from day one. Nusa would arrive as the high-ceiling wildcard, genuine competition for Martinelli and a long-term bet to grow into one of Europe’s most dangerous wide forwards.

That is the kind of depth champions lean on when the fixtures pile up and the margins tighten.

Depth or drift?

Arsenal’s challenge this season is not just to match last year’s intensity but to sustain it across more games, more competitions and more pressure points. Arteta needs options he trusts when he looks to his bench in February and sees three matches in seven days staring back at him.

Two high-quality left-sided additions would change that picture. They would give Arsenal the tools to rotate without a visible drop, to change the tempo of games from the touchline, to survive injuries and suspensions without ripping up the game plan.

The market will decide how far they can push. Leipzig will dig in, Liverpool will not step aside, and Aston Villa will not volunteer to weaken a rival.

But if Arsenal are serious about defending their Premier League crown, the question is no longer whether they can afford to go big on the left.

It is whether they can afford not to.